


Midnights

by Ballycastle_Bat



Series: Furt [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Closeted Character, Eating Disorders, Minor Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Most Canon Ships are touched on, Multi, No smut but smut is sometimes implied, Not F/nchel friendly, Not Rachel Friendly, Online Friendship, Other, Other: See Story Notes, Out of Character, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, break ups
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:21:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21910678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ballycastle_Bat/pseuds/Ballycastle_Bat
Summary: Finn and his penpal met on a sports forum. No names, just life stories with code names. It was kind of like a game at first, until it wasn't. The anonymity made them feel safe in a way they didn't yet have words for. It was easy and Sev opened up Finn's world. However, things get messy when it comes to light that Finn's roommate is being targeted by a school bully."Your soulmate is not someone that comes into your life peacefully. It is someone who comes to make you question things, who changes your reality, somebody that marks a before and after in your life. It is not the human being everyone idealized, but an ordinary person, who manages to revolutionize your world in a second."— Unknown
Relationships: Blaine Anderson & Finn Hudson, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Pre Finn Hudson/Kurt Hummel, pre Blaine Anderson/OMC
Series: Furt [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1739470
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Midnights

**Author's Note:**

> [[Warnings: At the end of each chapter. Not Rachel friendly, eventually Quinn friendly.
> 
> Notes: I've been sitting on this fic for a little while. I watched Love Simon for the first time earlier last year and it made me remember when I was younger and had an online friend, back before it was more common and not seen as super strange. So I really wanted to write this. Also a note: https://pointly.tumblr.com/post/189242907326
> 
> I turned off anon comments and put on moderation because this a strangely personal fic and I honestly feel anxious about leaving comments open but I've put too much time in it to just chicken out on posting it.
> 
> Thank you so much to Dan and the Writer's Cafe discord for dealing with me rambling about this fic for ages.
> 
> Tumblr: batty-writes.tumblr.com]]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn makes a new friend, and it teaches him more than he thought he would want to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [[Warnings: in the end notes.  
> Notes: Whenever I read through their text messages and IMs and I always felt like it was way too formal considering how old they are so I used a little bit of text speech here and there. I didn't want to overdo it and make it unreadable even though I know that's how they would be talking. So I'm sorry if it's too much.]]

Finn Hudson had two faces, the one he bore out and open to the world, and one that was reserved only for his best friend. There was just one thing. He didn't know where he lived. He didn't even know his name. He never told anyone because that just wasn't done. You couldn't have friends online that you didn't know in real life.

He didn't realise this, nor did it become an issue until he was older.

Finn's best friend, identified only as Hello715 which quickly evolved into 'Sev'. He wasn’t very creative when he was twelve. They had met when Finn was around twelve, back then you just didn’t have online friends. So he kept this friend a secret, just for him. His friend did the same.

It was innocent at first. The two spoke of almost nothing but sports and school drama. It was certainly a light friendship. They never really expected it to go any deeper than that. Before they knew it, a year had past. Sev getting new internet so he'd given Finn his phone number.

Finn got up early that morning for his first day of seventh grade. He was nervous, but he was sure Sev was too. How couldn’t he be? This was the last year before high school. He really needed to pull his grades up. He pulled out his cellphone and checked for any texts from Sev. There was one.  
  
**Sev:** _First day of the second year of middle school! Are u ready Bronco? We’re almost halfway done._  
  
Bronco, the nickname derived from his original screen name _BroncosFan281_. Which Finn could admit wasn’t very creative but he was around eleven or twelve on a sports forum when he met Sev.  
  
“Finn!” Came Carole’s voice from downstairs. “You’re going to miss the bus if you don’t hurry up!”  
  
Finn headed down stairs, dodging his mom and rushing out the door. He got on the bus. When he sat on the bus, he flipped open his cellphone so he could write out a response to his friend.  
  
**Bronco** : _I have to be I guess. Sorry I didn’t get this until I was on the bus. I’m glad we r in the same time zone though. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you to face it with me._

 **Sev:** _No probs dude!!! I know you’ve got life n other friends. I've been awake for a while. I get up every morning at 5am to do vocal exercises_. Also it’s the exact same time zone.

 **Bronco:** _Wow. That’s dedication. I cant believe I dnt know that._  
  
**Sev:** _Well, we used to just talk about sports all the time. I also sing, I’m going to play the lead in my school’s play this year. We’re doing Romeo and Juliet, it’s so Cliche though. ): I hate it. I want to be CHALLENGED. Ugh._  
  
**Bronco:** _I would never have the guts to do theater. I only sing in the shower after my mom's boyfriend broke up w her. Where are you now? At school yet?_

 **Sev:** _No, waiting for my bro to drive me. He’s frustrating. I might be late again. He’s rehearsing for a commercial. I don’t like talking about him._

 **Bronco:** _Why’d you bring him up if you didn’t want to talk about him?_

 **Sev:** _I don’t know. It's easy to talk to you._

 **Bronco:** _Oh. Right. Well I’m sorry ur bro is stupid. I wish I had a brother. I’m an only child. I think I already told you that my dad died when I was a baby?_

 **Sev:** _Yeah you did. That sucks, man. Sorry._

 **Bronco:** _I don’t really remember him. Anyway, my best friend and I are going out for Basketball this year so we’ll see how that goes._

Finn was interrupted by a tween who was a bit big for his age slamming into the seat next to him. “Yo, Finnster!” his best friend, Puck's entrance had caused Finn to slam his phone shut and tuck it away in the pocket on his backpack. “Who were you texting?”

Finn shrugged. “Just my mom, she had an early shift today. Needed to know I was on the bus.” He didn’t like lying. It made him feel sick, but he was getting better at it when it came to Sev. There was just something personal about his conversations with him.  
  
Puck accepted that answer more easily than others. He leaned his back into the seat and stared out the window. He easily believed the lie. Finn half listened to him tell stories about girls he hooked up with, which were most likely lies. Finn believed him though.

 **Sev:** _Good luck!!! I'm sure you'll do great!! I'm on a diet right now. I want to be in really good shape for choir. I'm really big right now and it's bad. Finally in the car, and I'm going to be late. I'm so glad my homeroom teacher understands my situation._

 **Bronco:** _Good luck to you too._

That was the last time he heard from his friend for a few weeks. He was worried but it was like Sev had said. They had different lives. Finn couldn't expect him to drop everything for him.

It was two weeks later when Finn finally sent a message.

 **Bronco:** _Hey man. I'm worried. I know we just talked about having our own lives but I really need to know you're okay. Usually I get at least an email with a YouTube Link or something._

It was a full day before Finn got a quick and sharp reply.

 **Sev:** _Skelletor is fine. He gave us a fucking scare. Trying to get the idiot to eat is an uphill battle._

To Finn's horror attached was an image of who he assumed was Sev. However, all he could make out was the thin from in a hospital bed. Wild black curls covered most of his face, apart from one side of his face where Finn could see a hollowed out cheek bone. He nearly dropped his phone in shock, and horror if he was being honest. It was the first time he’d seen someone sick like that.  
  
He’d never even received photos of any kind from Sev, which had already made it a bit jarring. It was difficult for him to process in the moment. He shut his phone and hid it away. He didn’t know what to think. When he steadied himself he managed a reply.

 **Bronco:** _Tell him to text me when he can._  
  
He put his phone away and returned to class. Nauseated. He couldn’t understand how this happened. He wasn’t stupid, he knew Sev didn’t wear down to nothing over night. How long had this been going on? When Sev mentioned diets, did he really just mean starving himself?  
  
The questions assaulted Finn’s young brain. He was overwhelmed. He felt like Sev was going to die. He was at home, laying in bed. He somehow felt he was right there with Sev. His best friend. He felt it even miles away. He wished he could understand how he’d formed such a bond with someone he had never met. He was pondering this when he got another text.  
  
**Sev:** _Hey. I’m so so so sry about my brother. He doesnt understand /anything/. I’m sure that freaked u out. Please don’t think I’m a freak or something. I’m sorry._

 **Sev:** _I’m okay. I just._  
**Sev:** _I don’t know._  
**Sev:** _I’m not really okay but like .. listen Bro. I’m not crazy or anything u know? I have to go soon. They’re checking me into something called an inpatient Eating Disorder program. I have live there for a bit. I can’t have my phone but if you still want to talk to me we will when I’m out._

 **Bronco:** _Of course I want to talk to you. You’re my best friend. I hope they help you. I don’t know anything about this but I hope you’ll be okay._

Of course the situation scared him; there were people twice, even three times his age who wouldn’t know how to handle something like this. He just laid there for a few more minutes; unsure how to proceed. An unbridled fear ripping through his body shot him into an upright position. The only thing he could think about was how he thought Sev could be dead. After some thought he carefully made his way downstairs to the family computer. He took a deep breath to steady himself before typing _Eating Disorder_ into the _ask Jeeves_ search with his hands still trembling.  
  
He had to do something, didn’t he? He thought so. Sev was his friend, after all. He closed his eyes for a few minutes in a futile attempt to calm his racing heart and brain.

* * *

Three days into Sev’s treatment, Finn’s mother was making him breakfast for school. “Hey, Finn. I want to talk to you for a minute. You’re not in trouble, but we need to talk about this.”

Finn looked up at her, his heart beat picking up in his chest. “Yeah?”

“I was on the computer last night.” --Finn cast his glance away-- “you’re not in trouble sweetie. There were a lot of concerning searches and I want to make sure you and your friends are ok. Because if someone is in trouble, you have to tell an adult.”Finn looked up again, he was hesitant. He couldn’t exactly tell her what was going on. “Everything is fine mom. I got a weird pop-up about eating disorder treatments and I didn’t know what eating disorders were.”

Carole sighed. “I need you to be honest with me.”

“Everything’s fine.” said Finn seriously. “It’s just a dumb google search.”

“I know, honey but that’s some pretty heavy stuff. Do you want to talk about it?”

Finn shook his head and pulled his backpack over his shoulder. “I’m going to miss the bus. Bye.” he moved out the door too fast for her to reply. Carole was stumped, but hoped he would bring it up eventually.  
  
It was five long days before Finn got a response from Sev. He saw the name on his IM and he nearly lunged across the room to get to the old PC his mother had gotten him for his birthday. He opened his IMs.  
  
**Sev:** _Hey. I’m back. My parents took my cell though. Try out this song, it’s called Stolen, it’s by Dashboard confessional. You might like it (:_ It's not exactly classic rock like you usually go for but it's still good.

Attached to the message was an MP3 file that Finn promptly downloaded.

 **Bronco:** _Thanks, I’ll be sure to check it out. So, is everything okay?_

 **Sev:** _I’m not ready to talk about it. Is that okay? I’ll text you about it when I get my phone back or something._  
  
**Bronco:** _Whatever dude. I’ve got your back whenever._

The next few days that Finn spent without texting Sev were slow. He missed their fast paced conversations about everything from homework to music. He also had gotten into a habit of really enjoying Sev giving him a play by play of whatever novel he was reading. Recently he was reading the fourth _Harry Potter_ book and Finn loved hearing Sev get excited about it.  
  
Finn sat up late at his computer, hoping Sev would come online, his eyes heavy with sleep. It was nearly midnight, he’d faked being in bed hours ago but he knew Sev was up late sometimes. Which made him wonder if they had a few hours different in their time zones, but that wouldn’t make sense as they seemed to have school at similar times. He was also sure that he’d confirmed that they both lived in the Midwest at some point. He was too tired to remember.

_Ding._

**Sev:** _Hey, I didn’t think you’d be up. How are you?_

 **Bronco:** _I was waiting up for you. Is that weird?_

 **Sev:** _No it’s not weird. No one’s ever done that for me though. I’m just really tired. I can’t remember if I told you but after inpatient they’ve been sending me to “outpatient” which is basically like school but_ they just tell me about everything that’s wrong in my head. Sometimes we do art.

 **Bronco:** _I did a bunch of research on eating disorders. Which one do you have?_  
  
**Sev:** _I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa type 2. Basically they were talking about how it’s because I restrict but I also binge and purge._

 **Bronco:** _Okay. I read about anorexia a little bit. Purging is throwing up, right?_

 **Sev:** _Yes it is._ _Thanks for being my friend, Bronco. It meant a lot to have someone waiting for me. I don’t have a lot of friends at school._

 **Bronco:** _I'll always be here for you, man. Are you okay?_  
  
**Sev:** _I don’t know. Is that okay?_

 **Bronco:** _Yeah, man._  
  
**Sev:** _All of my friends are going to be asking questions and I don’t want to deal with it._  
  
**Broonco:** _Then don’t. Tell them you had mono. Uh, look man I’m dead. I just needed to make sure you were okay._

Finn stared at the screen for a few seconds before logging out of MSN and shutting down his computer. He didn’t know how he was supposed to act in this situation. He didn’t know it then, but that was the turning point in their friendship. It was when they really got in deep.  
  
They were friends now, in a different way than before. With Finn staying. When he made that choice to not run away, which many kids of his age may have understanbly, he chose to stay. It changed things. This wasn’t just an anonymous online friendship anymore. There was in intimacy now. 

He started to send Sev what he hoped were helpful texts like _What did you eat today?_ And it quickly became a part of their routine. Sometimes Sev would send Finn texts like _I ate a hotdog and I feel gross._ Finn would respond with whatever he thought would be helpful.

Sev had expressed that it made him feel more at ease when he could openly display the thoughts in his head for him. When he was at home, it was a shameful topic that wasn't discussed. He has to pretend to be healthy and okay at home, but with his anonymous friend Bronco he could say deeper things. He could say when he was proud of himself for forcing through a bad thought, he could say he was in a bad place.

He appreciated the way that he was listened to, and that there was an attempt at support. Even if they didn't have the right words. He always tried to reciprocate that too with School problems.

* * *

It somehow felt like forever and no time at all when they were graduating from middle school, closer than ever. Finn was sort of missing Sev that week. He was moving. Which sucked for Finn, because it meant he was busy dealing with his family.

 _Buzz_.  
  
Finn nearly leaped across the sofa do get his cellphone from the arm. He was inside on the nice summer day for once. He’d been feeling a bit blue. He snatched it up and flipped it open. He had a couple messages from Sev.  
  
**Sev:** _Why do they even HAVE Elementary School and eighth grade graduation? Like, we’re just going from one school to another. It doesn’t make sense. Some places don’t even have middle school. Also I emailed you a playlist before we packed up my desktop, I’m going to try to use my brother’s laptop but we’ll see if he’ll let me download madden. P.S. There is a LOT but try to make it last through this shitty move lol._

 **Bronco:** _I think it’s kind of fun. I don’t know. Great to celebrate being done._

 **Sev:** _That’s a kind of fun way to think about it. I’m sorry. I’m just mad._

 **Bronco:** _I know lol. Don’t worry abt it. So, when do we get to go back to gaming?_  
  
**Sev:** _Idk man, whenever we get settled in with internet. Could be a week or two._  
  
Finn was pulled away from the conversation by Puck banging on the screen door. “Finn! We’re all going down to Anders’ park to play basketball with Kerosky and that kid Matt.”

“Let me get dressed!” Finn called, rushing up the stairs to his room. He decided to download his new playlist to his off brand MP3 player while he was upstairs. Finn trusted Sev’s musical taste, and there had been few things that he’d recommended that Finn hadn’t enjoyed.

At Thirteen, Finn was still figuring out who he was as a person. He had built his personality around sports. Which while convenient for now during turbulent adolescence, it would not support him in the long run.  
  
Sev was different, and that made Finn feel good talking to him. So he started sharing more with him, his insecurities with life, and his dreams. He was so open with Sev about his love of music that it almost scared him.

When they were Freshmen. There was an incident at school, where Puck had interrupted him listening to a musical that Sev had sent him; he had very quickly clicked off of it. Deeply embarrassed that Puck may have seen. That night he sent Sev a risky question. 

**Bronco:** _Do u ever feel like you're different around other people than you are with me?_

 **Sev:** _how do u mean that? I think we r all a little different with different friends._

 **Bronco:** _have you ever pointedly hid something from your friends that you told me?_

 **Sev:** _Besides my bro? Not really._

 **Bronco:** _ok._

 **Sev:** _Are you alright?_

 **Bronco:** _I wish I could be like you._

He didn't hear from Sev for a while. He tried to go back to his life, as it was almost spring break but he couldn't help it. He was worried. He wondered if Sev hated him now; he really hoped that wasn't the case. His mom noticed him withdrawing, and Finn's body image issues started to get worse and more than just an itch in the back of his head that he wasn't good enough.

Which if he was honest about it, he hadn't really noticed before now. It was especially flared considering the other boys on the basketball team looked like they were in better shape.

When Sev finally reached out to him again, it was a little past twelve am. Midnight. Five days had past. Finn got up to the sound of the text message.

 **Sev:** _Hi. I'm sorry I haven't been emailing or anything. Stuff happened. Pls don’t hate me. I have to change schools I'm going to go to a private school._

 **Bronco:** _it's ok nothing has been happening here._

 **Sev:** _I lied when u asked if I kept things from other people, because I was keeping something from you too. I'm gay Bronc._

 **Bronco:** _I don't know about that._

 **Sev:** _I think I know myself? Never mind it doesn't matter, I don't care what you think._

 **Bronco:** _That's nt what I meant!!! you're my best friend. I'm sure ur … you know. If you say you are, I just … I don't know anything about that. But I can learn, like I did with your ED._

Finn really didn't know what to think of this. He grew up in Lima, out lgbtq+ people were not exactly growing on trees around here. He wasn't entirely sure where to go from there, but he didn't it couldn't be that bad. He knew Sev, or at least the fifteen year old thought he did.

He also struggled with how much he’d grown to care of about Sev. He felt as close to him as he did with Puck, maybe even closer. Which was something he didn’t know what to think about, but they talked all the time. He found himself checking his phone a lot; hoping for a message. He wondered if he was closer to him than he was with Puck.  
  
He certainly felt safer talking to him about things. When he was talking to Sev, he didn’t feel like he had to fit into a role. He didn’t feel like he had to be exactly what Sev wanted, because Sev just accepted him. He didn’t feel pressure to hide things he liked, or lock himself up. He loved talking to Sev, not just about the books Sev was reading but about the comics they were both reading, and the new sports games that were coming out. He had formed a bond with him that he never expected to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [[Warning: This chapter has graphic discussing of eating disorders + rapid weight loss, as well as a character being very offensive/ignorant/bad thing about the situation. Also I had a hard time with the balance between betraying situation accurately and using a shock value because it was shocking and upsetting to the characters ... I hope that makes sense. I don't have expierence with EDs beyond growing up with a friend for nine years who had an untreated ED.]]


End file.
